Rope clamp



June 2, 1953 J. J. COLONNA I ROPE CLAMP 'F 'iled March 16, 1949INVENTOR.

cj avze JzbZonm Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED-; STATES PATENT QFFICE ROPEQLAMP Jerome J. Colonna, Chicagm, 11L

Application March 16, 1949, Serial No. 81,715

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a rope clamp or locking hook. The clamp isuseful on clothesline posts, trucks using ropes to fasten shipments,boats, any place where a rope is belayed over a hook where the. rope isnot to slip over the hook.

Applicants first object is to provide a plate having upper and lowerarms which may be rocked on a central mounting so that a rope or linemay be squeezed between one arm of the plate and its supporting post andthen held by the pull of the line on the opposite arm. In addition tothe configuration of the plate, applicant utilizes a pair of screwshaving a truncated conical neck which loosely holds the clamp to thepost.

Another object of the invention is to provide the plate with a rockingsurface along the transverse lines of the screw holes so that the platemay rock easily into one of two extreme positions.

These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are attained inone embodiment of the invention disclosed in the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are front and side elevations respectively of applicantsclamp mounted on a post with the tension exerted on the lower arm;

Figs. 3 and 4 are front and side elevations respectively of applicantsclamp mounted on a post with the tension exerted on the upper arm; and,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the two positions of the clamp engagingrespectively the upper and lower surfaces of the conical neck of thescrews.

Continuing to refer to the drawings, the numeral It in Fig. 1 identifiesapplicants clamp. The clamp consists of a body portion 2, a pair ofdepending legs 14 and it, an upwardly extending arm i8, and twoforwardly directed wings 28 and 22. Transversely of the body portion !2are two screw holes 24 and 26 and there is a rolled bend 28, see Fig. 2,in the body portion [2 approximately along the line of the screw holes24 and '26. This bend is on a comparatively large radius. The arm I8 isbent at 39 so that when the arm 58 is rocked toward the post 32, the armI8 will lie in a plane parallel to the surface of the post 32. The legs14 and H5 are similarly bent at 34 and 36 so that the legs i l and itwill lie in a plane parallel to the surface of the post when the clampis rocked to its extreme downward position. A wale 38 is impressed inthe body portion l2 to provide strength.

Applicant utilizes screws 48 and 42 to mount the clamp on the post, andreferring to Fig. 5, each of these screws has a conical neck 44. Thescrews are not pulled up tightly on the clamp. The holes 24 and 26 inthe clamp are larger than threaded shank 46 of the screw 40, theirdiameter being indicated by the lines 48 and 50 in Fi In usingapplicants clamp, the line 52 may be passed under wing 20, see Fig. 1,behind arm 18, then forwardly of the body portion I2 and behind eitherleg 36 or leg 34. The party stringing the line grasps the line at 52,the other end being fastened at some point not shown, and pulls it astight as desired while the other hand at 54 takes up the slack.Ultimately, all of the tension is maintained at 54 and this rocks theclamp into the position shown in Fig. 2 with the line at 56 squeezedbetween the arm l8 and the post 32.

The party stringing the line may introduce the lead end beneath a legl4, see Fig. 3, in which arrangement he leads the line upwardly over thebody portion I2, behind the arm i8 and then forwardly over or under thewing 20. Here the end 56 pulls the clamp into the position shown in Fig.4 with the line squeezed between the leg [4 and the post 32.

Referring to Fig. 5, the position of the screw holes is illustrated forthe two extreme positions of the clamp. The position of the clamp shownin Fig. 2 is illustrated in Fig. 5 by dot-dash lines with the upper andlower edges of the screw holes indicated by the numerals 58 and 60. Theposition of the clamp shown in Fig. 4 is illustrated in Fig. 5 by dottedlines with the upper and lower edges of the screw holes indicated bynumerals 48 and 50.

The advantage of applicants clamp resides in being a single stampingalthough being movable in mounted position. The clamp holes having adiameter slightly less than the largest diameter of the conical neck ofthe screws protect the screw head from being sheared off by pulling inthe plate. The ends of the arm and legs being in planes parallel to thesurface of the post when in effective position, squeeze the line evenlyand minimize fraying.

Applicant claims:

A rope clamp comprising a metallic plate, a transverse horizontal bendon a comparatively large radius in the plate with the concave surfaceforward, openings in the plate along the bend for receiving fasteningmeans, a central arm extending upwardly from the central portion of saidplate, second and third arms, one on each side of the central arm,extending forwardly and downwardly below the central arm and spacedrespectively from the central arm by a distance sufiicient to pass arope, said three arms being above the transverse bend, and a pair ofspaced downwardly directed legs on the plate below the transverse bend,one on each side of a vertical line containing the upwardly directedcentral arm.

JEROME J. COLONNA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber 0 Number Name Date Munroe Sept. 2, 1884 Brinkerhoff July 9, 1889Adams June 3, 1902 Day Apr. 7, 1914 Alexander June 28, 1927 Haley June24, 1930 Johannsen Sept. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GermanyJan. 14, 1908

